Review: Only Real – One For the Road

Review: Only Real - One For the Road

Zac Johnson, Entertainment Editor

He raps like Beck, makes slightly more sense, and sounds like Third Eye Blind except that all of their guitars have been replaced with psychedelic riffs from the 60s. Only Real is a perfect blend with its sundrenched pop infused with grunge, and at first it’s pretty difficult to even describe what you’re hearing. The best part of listening to him is that he lets you know he’s capable of so much musically but only occasionally lets you hear the best of him. The whole album sounds bored but it’s a fantastic and mellow feeling that I’ve only had from a select few artists.

Right now it seems like he’s sticking to touring Europe and the U.K., but hopefully he’ll make it over to the U.S. eventually. His sounds are very similar to Canadian musician Mac DeMarco, and as Only Real grows in popularity I think American audiences will be more receptive. His raps and flow sound like he just got up one day and started spit balling into the mic, everything really just sounds like he’s not even trying. His lyrics are sometimes out there and don’t have a lot of meaning, but in a way I think it makes his songs feel a lot more real than some other musicians who try and give deep meanings to all of their songs.

Only Real is probably the best discovery I’ve made in music in quite a few months. He’s easy to listen to, original, and just released a new EP called “One For the Road” yesterday. For me, it’s an easy 5/5, but check him out for yourself.